


like a fish

by sxftmelody



Series: prompt requests [2]
Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-08 17:09:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16433462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sxftmelody/pseuds/sxftmelody
Summary: Anon asked: heres a promptaquarium worker!kim lip finds real actual mermaid!jinsoul in a backroom & drags her home, puts her in the bathtubalso bonus since jinsoul has no fish bra thing kim lip is a useless lesbian and keeps looking at her titties





	like a fish

When Jungeun hears rustling in the back storage room, she feels annoyance grow inside of her. She heads towards the disturbance with a frown.

 

She just wants to get home and relax all weekend. She’s tired from working all day (and having to  _ close _ the aquarium, too), and the storm brewing outside isn’t helping her mood.

 

Needless to say, Jungeun’s got full-intent on scolding whoever’s making so much noise.

 

She opens the door, and the shuffling stops, as if whoever it was has completely frozen in their spot. Jungeun turns the light on, walking further into the backroom.

 

“Kim Hyunjin, I  _ swear to God _ if that’s you back there again with your girlfriend I’m going to—”

 

She yelps when she turns the corner, eyes widening.

 

In front of her, on the ground, is a  _ painfully _ ethereal blonde woman whose legs  **aren’t** legs—she’s got a long tail full of shiny, blue scales—and whose chest is…  _ completely bare.  _

 

_ Oh my God, Jungeun, you’re  _ **_staring_ ** .

 

“W—What…. who are you?”

 

The woman blinks, looking as scared as Jungeun does, “My name is Jinsol.”

 

“Okay,  _ Jinsol _ , what the hell are you doing  _ here _ ?” she gestures around, “And… And  _ shirtless _ , too—God,  _ where is your shirt _ ?”

 

“I do not know how I got here,” Jinsol replies.

 

Jungeun hates that she thinks her voice is attractive, too.

 

“Well, are you a newbie at work? It’s late and the mermaid shows ended at six. You need to get that costume off and—”

 

“It is not a costume,” Jinsol says, “I have no recollection of how I ended up here.”

 

Jungeun stares at her, “What?” she laughs, moreso out of disbelief, “You’re telling me you’re an  _ actual _ mermaid?”

 

“I prefer the term merperson.”

 

“ _ Jesus… _ ” Jungeun mumbles. She lowers her eyes (and skips quickly over Jinsol’s chest— _ sort of _ ) to the long tail that flaps quietly against the floor. Those scales do look a bit too expensive to be the aquarium’s mandated ones…

 

“Will you help me?”

 

“Help you?” Jungeun repeats, “With  _ what _ ?”

 

“Get home,” Jinsol answers, “the water.”

 

“I…” 

 

It’s been too long of a day for her, really.

 

“Fine. Yeah, sure,  _ whatever _ —just—” she shrugs off her sweater and moves forward, kneeling down in front of the girl. Jinsol stares at her quietly as Jungeun helps the piece of clothing over her. Jungeun zips the sweater up and huffs when she reaches the top of the zipper, “ _ There _ . Now… how do I get you out of here?”

 

-

 

“Why is your tail so  _ heavy _ ?” Jungeun grunts as she slowly goes up the stairs of her apartment building, one foot after the other. 

 

She’s lucky that it’s so late—none of her neighbors are awake to see her carry this  _ merperson _ .

 

Jinsol’s arms, wrapped around Jungeun’s shoulders, tighten as she tries to adjust her position. Water droplets from the pouring rain outside trickles down their skin and falls onto the apartment’s tiled floor. Jungeun’s shoes squeak as she walks.

 

“I am sorry,” Jinsol says quietly.

 

“Not your fault,” Jungeun lets out another huff of air as she manages to get up the last step. 

 

She walks down the hall without much of a problem, and then she stands in front of her apartment door. She clears her throat, “Jinsol, in my back pocket there are keys. Can you get them?”

 

“Yes, I can,” Jinsol’s hand travels down and slips into the back of Jungeun’s khakis, her fingers searching for the keys but to no avail—it’s just Jinsol groping Jungeun’s bottom, really. 

 

Jungeun fights the blush that warms her cheeks, “Wrong pocket,” she manages to choke out.

 

“ _ Oh _ ,” Jinsol moves to the other pocket, getting the keys and pulling them out, “here you go.”

 

-

 

“It’s not the ocean, but it’s  _ something _ ,” Jungeun says as she turns the faucet off. 

 

Jinsol’s positioned in Jungeun’s little rinky-dink bathtub, half of her tail sticking up and  _ out _ . She’s not wearing the sweater anymore—and none of Jungeun’s bikini tops fit her—so she’s back to being bare-chested.

 

_ Dammit _ .

 

“Thank you,” Jinsol smiles, and Jungeun feels her stomach flip.

 

“Sure, no problem,” Jungeun says, then she clears her throat, “Are you hungry? What can you eat?”

 

Jinsol shrugs, “I can eat human food.”

 

“Is macaroni and cheese okay?”

 

“Sure.”

 

(Jinsol has no clue what that is.)

 

-

 

Jungeun sits on the bathroom floor with a warm bowl of macaroni and cheese in her lap, two spoons settled inside.

 

“So, you have  _ no idea _ how you ended up at the aquarium?” Jungeun asks as Jinsol stares at the pasta.

 

Jinsol shakes her head, “Not a clue.”

 

She watches as Jungeun grabs the handle of the spoon, eating some of the macaroni. Jinsol follows, grabbing the handle of the other spoon and taking a spoonful of mac ‘n cheese herself.

 

Jungeun smiles when Jinsol hums contently, eyes widening in excitement.

 

“You like it?”

 

“Yes!”

 

_ Thank God for boxed mac ‘n cheese. _

 

-

  
  


“Uh, Jinsol?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I need to shower,” Jungeun points to the tub that Jinsol’s laying in.

 

Jinsol raises her eyebrows, “Then shower?”

 

“What?” Jungeun replies, “ _ No _ , I can’t shower with you in here.”

 

“Why not?” Jinsol questions, turning her body so she only takes up the back half of the tub, the entirety of her tail hanging out the side of the tub.

 

“I…” Jungeun sighs, “Don’t look, okay?”

 

“Okay.”

 

-

  
  


“Do you want me to leave the light on, Jinsol?” Jungeun asks as she finishes brushing her teeth. 

 

Jinsol shakes her head, “I can see in the dark.”

 

Jungeun turns around, “You  _ can _ ?”

 

A nod.

 

“Well,” Jungeun mumbles, “at least my electricity bill won’t skyrocket.”

 

She turns the light off.

 

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Jungeun says, “goodnight, Jinsol.”

 

“Goodnight, Jungeun.”

 

—

 

“I have to pee—don’t look,” Jungeun says the next morning.

 

Jinsol smiles at the sleepy human before turning her chin upwards and looking at the ceiling, “I am not looking.”

 

-

 

“The weather is still pretty shitty outside—there’s a hurricane apparently—so I don’t think it’ll be safe for me to get you back out in the water today,” Jungeun says, walking in with another bowl of macaroni and cheese. She hands it to Jinsol, who takes it gleefully.

 

“That is okay, I can wait,” Jinsol says.

 

“Okay,” Jungeun nods, “I… I have to go do some paperwork, so I’ll be out in the living room. Just call if you need me, alright?”

 

“Alright,” Jinsol grins.

 

-

 

“Jungeun, can you bring me out there, too?”

 

Initially, Jungeun thinks it’s an odd request.

 

Why would a merperson want to get  _ out _ of water? 

 

Still, Jungeun says ‘yes’.

 

She lays out towels on the couch before walking back into the bathroom. Jinsol grins brightly when Jungeun walks into the room. The bathtub’s water is already drained, and Jinsol’s already wearing one of Jungeun’s loose sweaters from college.

 

“Is my bathtub  _ that _ crappy that you want to leave?” Jungeun asks as she carefully brings her arms under Jinsol’s waist and tail.

 

“It is not that,” Jinsol laughs, the noise tickling Jungeun’s ear and the vibration running through her body down to her toes, “I would just like to spend more time with you—and you spend lots of time out there.”

 

“Most people don’t spend their days in the bathroom,” Jungeun replies, walking Jinsol to the living room. She carefully lays the woman down, holding her breath when her face gets a little  _ too _ close to the blonde’s, “are you sure you can be out of the water for this long?”

 

“Yes, it is alright,” Jinsol answers, “a merperson is just more comfortable in the water than on land, but we can survive on land.”

 

“So, you consider this old couch more comfortable than the water?”

 

“No,” Jinsol says honestly, though there’s a small smile on her lips, “I find  _ you  _ more comfortable than the water.”

 

Stunned, Jungeun’s mouth opens and closes multiple times.

 

Jinsol laughs loudly.

 

“Jungeun, you look like a fish!”

 

—

 

Even when the hurricane passes, Jinsol doesn’t leave just yet. 

 

They spend another month together. On weekends, Jungeun and Jinsol sit side-by-side on the couch with the TV playing in the background. Jinsol often asks questions about the show that is playing and Jungeun answers each and every one of them.

 

On work days, Jungeun spends her mornings with Jinsol, her evenings at work, and then her nights with Jinsol.

 

Jungeun didn’t think she could get used to cuddling with someone who had a  _ fishtail _ —but she did.

 

—

 

“Your ears turn red a lot,” Jinsol points out, her tail flapping against Jungeun’s thigh. She’s chewing on a Swedish Fish, something that Jungeun had given to her because Jinsol liked the design (they’re  _ fish _ ).

 

Jungeun’s been trying to read through her emails, but she kept getting distracted by Jinsol (and her beauty).

 

“Don’t  _ point it out _ ,” Jungeun grumbles, lightly smacking Jinsol’s tail, “it’s embarrassing.”

 

Jinsol edges closer, her arm around the back of the couch as she gets closer. Jungeun moves her laptop out of the way because Jinsol’s practically climbed into her lap. She wraps her left arm around Jinsol’s lower back, holding the girl up.

 

“How can I help you, Jinsol?” Jungeun asks playfully.

 

“Most humans I have met have been very mean,” Jinsol says quietly, eyes flickering between Jungeun’s, “but you are not. I like you.”

 

Jungeun gulps nervously, “Well, you prefer me over water—I’d  _ hope _ you like me.”

 

Jinsol smiles and then leans closer, turning her head so she can rest it upon Jungeun’s shoulder. Jungeun thinks she’s imagining the soft content sigh that escapes Jinsol’s lips. The blonde shifts even closer and her nose lightly trails across Jungeun’s neck, making Jungeun tense up.

 

“Thank you for being nice to me, Jungeun.”

 

“That’s not something you should have to thank somebody for, Jinsol,” Jungeun says, a small frown on her lips, “whatever those mean people did to you, you don’t deserve it.”

 

Jinsol lifts her head, brown eyes staring so intensely into Jungeun’s.

 

When Jungeun sees the tears build up in Jinsol’s eyes, she widens her eyes, “W—What? Don’t cry, Jinsol—I didn’t mean to—”

 

Jungeun instantly shuts up once Jinsol’s lips make contact with her cheek.

 

“Thank you,” Jinsol whispers, once again burying her face into the Jungeun’s shoulder, “thank you.”

 

—

 

“Be safe out there, won’t you?” Jungeun says, hint of sadness in her tone. 

 

It’s late—three in the morning—and Jungeun’s pretty sure she’s trespassing, but she doesn’t care.

 

She stares at Jinsol’s face through the night’s darkness, trying to memorize each and every feature of the woman.

 

“I will,” Jinsol nods, “thank you, Jungeun.”

 

“Yeah,” Jungeun says. It’s all she  _ can _ say without getting emotional.

 

The waves crash against the sandy shore gently, the breeze causing Jungeun to shiver.

 

“Well, off you go,” Jungeun tries to smile, but she can’t stop thinking about how she’s never going to see Jinsol again.

 

“Jungeun?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Come here,” Jinsol brings up her hand, and Jungeun does as she’s told. As she gets closer to the merperson laid in the sand, she feels a warm hand cup her cheek, “because of you, I have seen a new side of the human race that I have never seen before—and for that, I thank you.”

 

“No, humans are still pretty shitty species,” Jungeun says, making Jinsol giggle quietly, “You just got lucky with me.”

 

Jinsol bites down on her lower lip, her smile dimming, “I did get lucky, huh?”

 

Jungeun stares at the beautiful woman in front of her. She’s never going to see her again…

 

_ Fuck it _ .

 

She leans in, with Jinsol meeting her halfway.

 

Their kiss is brief, but it’s all Jungeun could ever ask for.

 

-

 

Jungeun watches Jinsol swim away with blurry vision, though there’s a smile on her lips.

 

She watches as Jinsol’s tail splashes against the water, holding back tears. 

 

Jinsol doesn’t look back, and Jungeun doesn’t, either.

 

She turns on her heels and walks back to her car, hoping that she hasn’t been ticketed for illegal parking.

 

A sigh.

 

_ She has work in a few hours. _

**Author's Note:**

> twitter: @sxftmelody  
> curiouscat: @sxftmelody


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